Doctor: Arizona coach Olson had a stroke

Wednesday

Oct 29, 2008 at 12:01 AMOct 29, 2008 at 9:08 PM

College basketball notes -- Lute Olson's doctor said he advised the longtime Wildcats coach to retire

Lute Olson’s doctor said Tuesday that the former Arizona basketball coach had a stroke within the last year and he advised him to retire.
The comments by Dr. Steven Knope at a news conference called by Olson’s family offer the first explanation for Olson’s sudden retirement last week, two days after he appeared at the Wildcats’ media day. Olson said at the time he was energized and looking forward to his 25th season with Arizona.
Knope said an MRI confirmed the stroke in the frontal part of Olson’s brain, which left the Hall of Famer with severe depression and impaired judgment.
“This is a rather cruel twist of fate,” Knope said at a McKale Center news conference attended by two of Olson’s daughters, Jodi Brase and Christi Snyder.
“He is quite literally devastated,” Knope said. “He was doing great over the summer and very much wanted to fulfill his obligation to the community and the university.”
Knope said Olson is resting at home and is on a blood thinner, and he’s optimistic Olson will recover.
The announcement ended almost a year of speculation about Olson’s health. Rumors began to circulate when he took a leave of absence last season for what he later termed a “medical condition that was not life-threatening.”
Over the last few weeks, Knope said he had talked to Olson about retiring because Olson was struggling to handle his workload as preseason practice opened.
“He just couldn’t put the pieces together,” Knope said. “He couldn’t do what he needed to do for the team.”
Knope said he ordered the MRI on Monday after Olson did not respond to recent treatment for depression.
“Unlike a typical stroke that you may imagine where someone is unable to walk or talk or move a limb, this stroke occurred in a part of the brain where much of his intellectual function and his motor function was perfectly normal,” Knope said. “So it wasn’t quite apparent. The tipoff and the clue came in the last several weeks, when we began to treat what appeared to be a bout of depression that simply didn’t respond.”
Knope said he had treated Olson for depression in the last year, during which Olson went through a contentious divorce from his second wife, Christine.
In April, Olson appeared ready to return to the grind of major college coaching. Olson told his doctor, “I love the game, I can’t wait to get back,” Knope said.
But something had changed. Knope said the coach had responded earlier to antidepressants but in the more recent bout he did not and also exhibited out-of-character behavior.
One public example came when a combative Olson sparred with reporters during the April news conference to announce his return. He typically had cool but cordial relations with the media.
“I think we can attribute that behavior to the stroke,” Knope said.
RACISM PROBE: Hamden, Conn., police say they are investigating several complaints of racism at Quinnipiac University, including slurs and harassing phone calls directed at black players on the school’s basketball team.
Police Capt. Ronald Smith said slurs were discovered Friday and Saturday on poster and cork boards outside the dorm rooms of three black players. He said players in the same building also reported receiving harassing phone calls Monday.
Smith told the New Haven Register the written slurs included a racial epithet and a drawing of a Nazi swastika. He says the phone calls contained similar racial overtones.
Police have seized the poster and cork boards as evidence. The investigation continued Tuesday. No arrests have been announced.

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